1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the use of robotic technology in mining industry to improve the system and method for the reposition and/or removal of base plates in cathode stripping machines, specifically in the electro-winning area.
2. Prior Art
The electrodeposition process is one of the current and simplest methods to recover, in a pure and selective way, the metals in a solution. This process mainly uses the permanent cathode technology, which consists in depositing the metal directly on the same mother blanks through an electrochemical process. This process is carried out in electrolytic cells until reaching the adequate weight for them to be removed and sent to the cathode stripping system. The most frequently used substrate in these cathodes if 316L stainless steel.
This technology uses different stripping machines. The most common are the following:                ISA Process, which is characterized by using a wax in the lower edge of the cathode to control the lower deposit, generating two metal plates and the stripping system is linear and U shaped.        Kidd Process (carousel), which is a variant machine very similar to the above, but it is a waxless technology which generates a blank joined with the two faces of the metal deposit and it uses a stripping system as a wheel with different work stations.        
During cathode stripping process, some factors help certain plates to be rejected by the control system of the cathode stripping machine (plates with metal residues, plates with low weight or overweight, bent plates or plates requiring maintenance).
The base plates rejected and removed from the cathode stripping machine are not subjected to an automated reposition system to the return line, so the number of plates returning to the normal operation is lower than the number of plates fed to the stripping machine, with the resulting deficit of base plates in the seeding of cells.
The reposition of the missing base plates in the cells—as a result of the rejection being made by the control system of the stripping machine—is carried out manually and/or mechanically directly in the cells or by filling an additional rack parallel to the return line of the base plates. This rack provides the bridge crane with missing plates to complete the seeding process into the cells.
The removal and/or reposition of missing base plates manually and/or mechanically has some disadvantages, such as:                A decrease in the productivity of the stripping machine and a high accident rate level to carry out the removal of the rejected base plates.        Costs associated to the personnel involved in the manual and/or mechanical reposition.        Less availability of the bridge crane, due to the fact it should move away from its original path to take the base plates from some other place.        The manual reposition of the base plates in the cells is an activity which presents a high risk of accident rate.        
The operators in charge of carrying out the manual reposition are subjected to a constant physical demand in harsh environmental conditions